Tag: Space Opera

Perhaps the best way to view the maiden season of the fan-divisive (now a regular occurrence) Star Trek series, Discovery is to treat it mainly as the redemptive arc of Michael Burnham, and just leave it at that.

There was a moment – the briefest possibly – where it seemed that the writers/producers behind Discovery were going to reboot the entire series using the escape from the Mirror Universe as the plot device.

Perhaps then Discovery would exist in a reality more aligned to the original series (which is supposedly a decade away from the events depicted so far.

As if it was not enough that the Discovery were lost in the Mirror Universe with the Terran Empire – the evil version of the Federation – threatening their very existence, “The Wolf Inside” unleashed a startling revelation!

Star Wars VII : The Force Awakens was a smash hit in 2015 BUT failed as a story. As a ‘soft reboot’, the movie served to superficially give the fans what they wanted but essentially retold the original Star Wars (1977) plot in an inferior way – adding in new characters but changing nothing significant in the key story beats.

“Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum” means “if you want peace, prepare for war” and that prepares the viewer for the ending of this instalment as it leads into the Fall finale of season one of Star Trek: Discovery!

Here we are again, about to defend a geek movie that most movie critics have harshly criticised. In a crowded space for summer blockbusters, it was difficult for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets to get attention from movie goers but it is definitely worth the effort!

Considering how amazing and surprising the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie was, when it was released in 2014, it is perhaps shocking (or maybe not) that its sequel matches not only its sheer entertainment quality but builds on the characters and relationships introduced in the original.

Well obviously we held certain reservations when it was announced that Justin Lin (Fast & Furious) would be directing the new Star Trek movie. And whilst the first trailer did not allay those fears, this second trailer has gone a long way towards repairing awful first impressions.

Scifi TV geeks have been waiting for a long time for a series that matches the epic sweep of Babylon 5 or Battlestar Galactica. Thus, when it was announced that Syfy was adapting James SA Corey’s Expanse series, there was palpable excitement amongst geeks that perhaps the wait was over. Based on the pilot, there is enough evidence that The Expanse may have a shot at emulating the greatness of the aforementioned series.

The latest DC crossover event Convergence gave the company the excuse to reboot its characters yet again. For some reason, Marvel and DC are convinced that comic book readers constantly want something new in lieu of memorable stories.

The Silver Age Green Lantern (a.k.a. Hal Jordan) gets his latest makeover with the Renegade storyline: Hal gets a new look as he goes rogue from the Green Lantern Corps and along the way, Jordan steals a Green Lantern prototype gauntlet and power pack from the armoury.

Yes the first teaser trailer was bewildering BUT this is the real deal right here.

With a Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil) VO, thrilling shots of the new Star Wars universe (30 years from Return of the Jedi) and the appearance of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca, it feels like …. coming home indeed.

Where do I begin? The fact that Jupiter Ascending had two previous release dates in 2014 before settling on February 2015 was already cause of concern. Add to that the dodgy trailer hinted of a ridiculously fantastical plot, lame dialogue and over the top epic sequences did not help comfort the unease.